Liverpool to Face Stoke City in League Cup Semi-Final

With a massive 6-1 win over Southampton at St. Mary's on Wednesday evening, Liverpool advanced to the semi-finals of the League Cup. The draw to determine their next opponents took place after the match, and Liverpool ended up with a familiar foe they've already faced in the league this season.

#LFC have been drawn to face Stoke City in the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup after tonight’s win over Southampton.

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 2, 2015

Liverpool have faced Stoke five times in their League Cup history, with a record of four wins and one draw. The first leg of the semi-final takes place the week of January 4, with the second leg taking place three weeks later during the week of January 25. The timing creates an odd convergence of back-to-back cup matches, as the Third Round Proper of the FA Cup usually falls during the first non-New Year's Day weekend of January. If Liverpool progress in the FA Cup as well, January just got a whole lot busier.

This is the third time in five years that Liverpool have progressed to the semi-finals of this competition, which they have won a record eight times. After such a decisive win under Jürgen Klopp, there is certainly a sudden possibility that Liverpool could very well go all the way in the League Cup to face the winner of Manchester City vs Everton. But silverware isn't won by getting ahead of yourself, and Liverpool still have to slog through the rest of December and January before they'll know if they're poised for a record twelfth appearance in the final.